


Roland's Misery

by ShivaeSyke



Category: Strange Magic (2015)
Genre: F/M, Family Drama, First Dates, Fluff and Humor, Helicopter Mom Marianne, Misunderstandings, Overprotective Parents, Protective Parents, Roland is STILL Awful 16 years later, Sensible Bog, Siblings Ruining Dates To This Day, Strange Magic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-19
Updated: 2019-12-21
Packaged: 2021-02-18 13:07:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21861316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShivaeSyke/pseuds/ShivaeSyke
Summary: Roland has two of the most beautiful daughters in the land, so perfect and innocent... then there are these two boys his daughters didn't warn him about standing on his doorstep to take them away from him and do who knows what to them.
Relationships: Bog King/Marianne (Strange Magic), Dawn/Sunny (Strange Magic)
Comments: 14
Kudos: 16





	1. Part 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TigressDreamer](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TigressDreamer/gifts).



> Inspired by conversation with TigressDreamer

Roland stood, staring at the two teenaged boys in his doorway. They were both good-looking young men, dressed in identical ivory white tunics, trimmed in gold over dark brown pants. They regarded him shyly, each holding a lovely corsage in their hands.

One was Roland's height, the other a head shorter. The tall one was the one that concerned Roland the most. A crown of leaves adorned his head in a single row and behind it was a shock of short auburn hair. The boy's eyes were a startling shade of blue and one that sent Roland's stomach churning.

This boy was Cadeyrn, eldest son of King Bog and Queen Marianne, the crown prince. A hybrid of his parents with all of their best qualities and features rolled into one awkward adolescent who had come here to prey upon one of Roland's beautiful daughters, maybe both of them. Roland wasn't sure what was going on. He ignored the other boy, Prince Aurelius? He had an odd name. The second prince was handsome, with dark skin, a freckled face and soft features. The golden blond hair on his head rivaled Roland's.

"Daddy!" Prim put a hand on her father's shoulder and tried to push him aside. "Let them come inside!"

"You're making them nervous," giggled the second girl, her cheeks bright red.

Roland scowled and gestured inside. His beautiful daughters were identical twins, both as perfect as he was, with flawless skin and beautiful features. They shared his green eyes and perfect blond hair. Prim wore her hair short and Rose's locks were shoulder length waves of gold.

"Good evening, Prim." Cadeyrn bowed politely to her, offering her the red rose corsage in his hand. The boy's wings rose, showing off the brilliant blue shading that came from his mother, dissolving into clear transparent glass below them. His wings were shorter than his father's and edged like his mother's. It was a disgusting combination.

"Oh, thank you, Cadeyrn!" Prim gushed, swishing her golden dress around her, holding out her hand. Roland scowled, watching the filthy half blood boy touching his daughter's hand.

Aurelius moved nervously beside his cousin, standing in front of the beautiful blushing Rose, her cheeks matching the pink of the dress she wore. "Good evening, Rose." The boy's voice cracked and his golden wings shivered. Another half-blood, his wings were an off color, brilliant gold with flecks of brown and spots of white.

Roland's daughters did not tell him who they were going to the Spring Ball with, just that they were invited by two high ranking young men. It never crossed Roland's mind that his two daughters would go with princes. Boys were one thing. But these two were the children of the most awful family in the fairy Kingdom. Worse, they were boys, and they were boys here for his daughters. His beautiful, sweet, innocent daughters.

"Daddy?" Rose turned her sweet head to look at him and pout, "Can't you be nice?"

"Of course, Dear." Roland turned his charming smile onto them. "Have a good evening, keep your hands to yourself, because I will hunt you down and kill both of you in your sleep if you touch them. Have them home immediately after the dance. Have a good time. I will kill you both if you touch them."

The four teenagers stared at Roland, who had a forced grin on his face that made him look crazy. 

"Daddy." Prim snapped, waving a finger into her father's face. "This is why we didn't tell you who it was, now stop threatening them. They're gentlemen." She turned to Cadeyrn, offering him her arm. "Let's go." The boy swallowed, glancing at Roland who made a knifing motion across his throat. He nodded and took Prim's hand, wobbling a little as he walked.

"Bye, Daddy!" Rose bounced after her sister with Aurelius running after her, trying to keep her between him and her scary father.

"Is he always like that?" Cadeyrn whispered to Prim. "My mom and dad tell stories…."

"He doesn't like boys," grumbled Prim. "It's like he thinks you're going to drag us off into the forest and do naughty things to us."

"Oh, no, never." Cadeyrn took the comment seriously. "We're just going to have dinner and dance."

"I was looking forward to the forest and the naughty things, Cade," giggled Prim. Cadeyrn turned bright red and his hands trembled. "I'm joking, Cade. Please, relax, you're always so nervous!"

"You're so beautiful, Prim," Cadeyrn grinned, showing off his misaligned teeth, something Prim thought was adorable. It was just how he smiled, a little lopsided with those beautiful blue eyes gleaming. "I can't help but tremble in your presence." Prim laughed and hugged her date's arm.

"Is he going to follow us?" Aurelius glanced over his shoulder.

"Stop looking back, Aurelius!" Rose whispered, clutching his arm. "Pretty sure he is, so just act normal. It's not like we're doing anything he thinks we're doing, whatever that is."

Aurelius groaned, wiping a hand over his head. "We already have Aunt Marianne and dad following us. What's going to happen when they run into each other? Are they going to cause a scene??"

"If they do, it'll teach them a lesson they'll never forget!" Rose giggled, bouncing next to her date.

"The girls have been picked up." Marianne scowled, crouching in a nearby tree. She was outfitted in black and whispering down to Sunny, who stood on a lower branch. "They are really dressed up! Wow, they're hugging our boys and all over them!"

"What?!" Sunny bounced on the limb, wringing his hands. "They need to get their hands off of my son. I don't think he even knows what to do with a girl, oh, what are they going to do to them if they get them alone!"

"We're not going to let that happen," hissed Marianne, dropping out of the tree. "Come on, we know where they're going. I'll stick to the rooftops, you watch from the ground."

Dawn whirled around in front of Bog. She had done it half a dozen times now, sending her white, gold trimmed dress flying around her each time. A trio of little girls with hair ranging from blond to dark brown followed her, spinning in their little pink dresses. The three of them were 4, 7, and 12 years of age and every bit as bouncy as Dawn and into constant trouble. Right now, they were blurs of color.

Bog sighed, standing with his youngest boy, a ten-month-old who looked more like him than Marianne in his left arm. The boy was actively bouncing and trying to squirm out of his father's grip, twitching his short wings. Two girls flanked Bog, tall and stately, one with Marianne's brown eyes, the other with his blue. Like their eldest brother, they were a strong mix of both of them in different ways. One had far more natural armoring than the other. They had short haircuts, one brown and one black and they wore the same style of dress, but one was yellow and the other orange. 

"Go on, go play," rumbled Bog, motioning to Dawn. With delighted squeals, the two girls dashed after their slightly shorter cousins and joined in the rampant unladylike spinning. Bog leaned on his staff, scanning the hall for any signs of his wife. All he saw were fairies and elves dancing to the music.

"Have you seen Sunny?" Dawn bounced in front of Bog, reaching up to poke baby Boggy as she called him. The boy laughed and reached for her.

"No, I have not. And I haven't seen Marianne either." Bog tilted his arm, dropping his boy into Dawn's open arms. She giggled and hugged him tightly while he squealed in laughter and grabbed for her hair. "It troubles me."

"I love babies so much!" Dawn whirled around, spinning the boy in the air as she did. "I want to have so many more!"

"Ye already got more than me and Marianne," grunted Bog. "Come to think of it, where's Aiden?"

"Oh, come on, you love babies just as much as I do!" Dawn giggled, stopping to cradle Boggy in her arms.

"Yes, but I'm not the one carrying them for 6 months until they're born," grumbled Bog. "Plus, Marianne is a nightmare when she's pregnant and you know that." Then he smiled. "Although, there are some perks."

"Hmm, Aiden was supposed to be here." Dawn bounced the baby in her arms, making him squeal with laughter.


	2. Part II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cadeyrn and Aurelius take their dates to dinner, fully aware their parents are following them, but having no idea Aiden, Aurelius' little brother is also following them with intent to destroy their dates after they teased him about girls and his wings. Aiden gets even better ideas as he moves into place.

Aiden folded his black wings, creeping around the restaurant he heard his elder brother and cousin discussing they would take their dates to  .  Like most elf eating establishments, the kitchen was set up for cooking and serving food to  be taken  to a large courtyard and eaten in public or home  .  The courtyard was lit up by strings of tiny white lights and  multiple  pergolas with climbing plants growing all over them .

The small fairy boy with wild spiky black hair was able to creep around on top of the arbors without making a sound, and his jet black wings made concealment easy . Like his older brother, his wings were not the standard moth color, but the patterning was the same. In certain lights, it showed among a shimmer of blues, green, and purple.

He had an annoying amount of girls who loved his wings and did not care that he was a little shorter than the other boys his age  .  Girls matured faster than boys, and he still  just  wanted to play games, train to be a good soldier, and pester his brother .

Several days prior, Cadeyrn and Aurelius said the most awful things to Aiden.  Someday, he was going to want to ask a girl to a dance, and she was going to want to kiss him and how easy it would be for him because girls LOVED him and fawned after him . Then they began laughing and talking like girls. Oh, you're so mysterious and beautiful, Aiden! Those wings! We want to touch them and hug them and wrap ourselves up in them! They laughed.

Aiden couldn't take it and vowed to ruin their dates tonight. They would never see it coming. When Aiden investigated where they would have dinner, he found his opportunity. The pergolas allowed him to get anywhere he wanted to, unseen. His black wings hid him. Getting his mother to allow him to wear a burgundy tunic and black pants tonight had been a chore. He  purposely  spilled berry juice on the cream tunic he  was supposed  to wear, and it worked, much to Mom's dismay.

Cadeyrn, Aurelius, Rose, and Prim entered the area laughing and walked to the kitchen to place their order  .  Aiden grinned, positioning himself along the beams of an armor, concealed by leaves and his wings  . He saw them  clearly  , but they would not see him. A movement  just  outside the courtyard caught Aiden's eye.

Aiden kept still, turning only his head to see Roland hiding behind the hedge that encircled the courtyard  . The fairy man held a huge leaf over his head, as though that would keep his golden hair from showing. It only took a moment for Aiden to figure out who he was. His family told cautionary tales with Roland as the villain. None of them  were allowed  to be in his sword training classes, and they were to avoid him.

When Aurelius told his parents Rose asked him to the Spring Ball, their mother was so happy for him and commented about what a lovely girl Rose was  . She had met her many times in the past and found her pleasant and sweet.  Aiden had watched in amusement as his father's face went through a dozen conflicting emotions in a span of five seconds .

Aiden grinned, making an  adjustment  to his plan. He had two water balloons in the bag at his side. They were full of a special mixture of glittery powder, one green, the other pink. His intention was to lob them at Cadeyrn and Aurelius, but what if he hit Roland and his brother's girl? That would show them.

Then, Aiden's eyes widened at a very familiar sound of flapping wings. He heard a creak from a nearby arbor and the rustle of wings dropping, large adult wings. The fairy boy froze and hoped he remained unseen in the dark, among the large leaves.

Aunt Marianne was nearby.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Marianne crouched on the arbor, trying to see through the leaves. There were gaps here and there, but she didn't see them. She watched the group of teenagers walk into the restaurant and out of sight. There was no way she would let the spawn of Roland be alone with her sweet, sensitive Cadeyrn.  Her greatest fear was a girl breaking his heart, and her personal disgust with Roland remained .

When Cadeyrn approached his parents about the girl he wanted to take to the Spring Ball, her response was less than polite  .  On the outside, Prim might be a nice, if not challenging girl, who often got into trouble in school but, she was Roland's daughter  .  That meant she was going to charm her son,  probably  try to get him to marry her so she could get the crown, then she would want an army !

The chain of thoughts was ridiculous, but they ran through Marianne's head.  Prim's rebellious nature was more about having fun and dragging her fellow classmates into the forest to explore places they had never been, during school hours  . Actually, Prim was a lot like Marianne.  Up until she had an interest in Cadeyrn, Prim was in the small group of girls that wanted to learn how to use a sword, and her father refused to teach her . Marianne LIKED Prim but did not want her anywhere near her son.

It was Bog who intervened for his son, stating that he was proud of Cadeyrn for having the courage to ask a girl to the dance and if he knew she would say yes  . Cadeyrn gave his father a shy smile and nodded.  Marianne grabbed her husband's arm at that point and pulled him a few steps away, snarling in anger about who Prim was .

Bog gave her one his lopsided smiled, those beautiful blue eyes  softly  glowing beneath his dark brows  .  It was  just  a little date, let the boy follow his heart because they would be there for him if anything went wrong and would make sure he wouldn't end up like either of them had with their first experiences with love .

Marianne pointed out not ending up like either of them could be  easily  prevented by not allowing this at all, and Bog clasped his hands over hers and kissed her  .  He reminded his lovely wife that if he didn't take this first step, there wouldn't be any other steps, and he would never find the woman he  was meant  to be with . That was their job, to make sure after that first step, he kept walking.

Begrudgingly  , Marianne snarled something about preferring to keep her son locked in a room until he was 30, then  carefully  select the perfect girl for him  .  Then she sighed and gave in, already deciding she would follow them the entire evening and make sure nothing terrible happened to her son .

Marianne spotted them and  quietly  walked across the arbor, catching glimpses of them until they stopped at a little table, surrounded on three sides by leaves  . With a scowl, she attempted to position herself to have the best view. A small creak nearby made Marianne glance up. Sunny's head popped up over the edge of the arbors; far enough away, he wouldn't  be seen  climbing up by the kids.

Sunny stepped  carefully  across the beams, making faces as every single beam he stepped on creaked beneath him . Marianne scowled at him, gesturing for him to be quieter, then pointing down to the kids.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Aiden stifled a groan. He could  barely  see his brother and cousin, and he couldn't move. If he tried to change positions, his aunt would see him, and worse, his father was here too. There was no way he would be able to throw his water balloons in the presence of Sunny. As much as his father loved jokes and pranks, doing what Aiden planned would cross a line if he saw him do it.

Then a thought occurred to him. He needed to shift his targets.  It would still ruin the date, but wouldn't bring his father down on him if he saw him, which he wouldn't if he played this right .

Roland wasn't far away and unable to see his daughters, he stepped  quietly  into the courtyard.  There were plenty of places to avoid  being seen  and conversations going on all around him, from couples already seated and eating their dinners . Aiden grinned, plotting exactly where Roland would walk. Beneath him.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Roland grumbled, scanning the restaurant for his daughters. They were nowhere in sight. He ran a hand  worriedly  through his hair. Those boys had done exactly what he did on his first date.  They took his sweet, innocent daughters into a private area and were  probably  all over them, kissing them, touching them in places they shouldn't, which was touching them at all .

He needed to find them and put an end to this immediately. Catching them in the act of ravishing his girls would put an end to this date. Roland's hand fell to the hilt of his sword. He wsn't wearing armor, having  been forbidden  from ever wearing it again. Still, he could threaten those boys to a point they would never come near beautiful Prime and Rose again.

Roland heard a rustle, then something fell on his head and popped. He blinked as a cloud of green, glittering dust enveloped him.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-

"If they're playing a slow song when we get to the dance, I'd prefer we wait until a faster one," Cadeyrn stated  shyly  , casting quick glances at Prim, catching her sparkling green eyes . He loved looking at them. They reminded him of glittering jewels.

"I'm okay with that, but you are going to dance with me, aren't you?" Prim reached out to lay a hand on Cadeyrn's, curling her long fingers over his.

He blushed. " Certainly  . I've been practicing, and I know all the dances tonight. I  just  , uh, I would be more comfortable, not, you know." He began stammering,  awkwardly  putting his other hand on top of Prim's.

"You don't want to put your arms around me." Prim smiled as she said it, fluttering her eyelashes.

"I DO!" Cadeyrn blurted out, then coughed, leaning away from her. Every time she did that thing with her eyes, he lost control of his senses. "I mean, I need to warm up to it?" She giggled.

"They are so ridiculous." Rose leaned her head on Aurelius' shoulder, and he gave her his best smile.

"I agree. We're dancing to whatever is playing, right?" Aurelius slid his arm around Rose and squeezed her.

"To everything," laughed Rose, cuddling up to him. Aurelius smiled, his warm brown eyes fixed on Rose. She adored the young prince and had flirted with him for months. They had been friends for far longer, keeping that a secret from their parents.  It was Rose's idea for Aurelius to tell his parents he asked her and not the other way around, as well as not telling her father who they were going with .

"I love you," whispered Aurelius, lifting Rose's hand and kissing it. "Only you, my sweet Rose." Gagging noises came from across the table.

"Get your half-blood hands off my daughter!" Roland appeared out of nowhere in a cloud of green glitter, his sword drawn and waving it at Aurelius.  The four teenagers scrambled to get out of their chairs, then heard a loud snarl and a creaking noise from above them .

-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Aiden saw his chance when the whole arbor shook. He looked up to the sound of a loud snarl and saw his aunt and father were about to fall or jump through the leaves. They were looking down, not in his direction.  With a smile, Aiden lobbed his second balloon and crouched, eager to move into position to watch the chaos he caused .

-=-=-=-=-=-=-

It wasn't intentional.  Sunny and Marianne heard every word the children said and leaned in closer than they intended  .  When Marianne heard Roland's voice, she lost it, snarled, and tipped forward too much into the opening between the beams . Sunny fell on her shoulder, and there was no recovering from it.

The pair of them crashed through the leaves and landed on the floor in a heap, and worse, there was pink glitter everywhere  .  Marianne sneezed, remembered that Roland was nearby and opened her eyes to the sight of glittering pink . She flashed back to that time, so long ago, when she had glittering pink thrown into her face.

Marianne screamed and was on her feet, sword drawn and waving it in front of her. Love potion? Roland had thrown love potion on her? She had startled him in the middle of a plan to dust her son and nephew with love potion! It wouldn't work on her, because she loved Bog, but her son?!

-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Roland stared for a moment at the couple crashing through the leaves. Recognition was immediate, and he backed away.  He had worked too long and too hard to even  be allowed  back in the kingdom to fight Marianne, but then she came at him, her sword flashing, and he had to counter .

"Hold on there!" Roland fought back, doing his best to block the furious blows. "I only wanted to scare them! I wasn't going to hurt them! Marianne! STOP!"

-=-=-=-=-=-=-

"Mom!" Cadeyrn put an arm in front of Prim as they attempted to get out of the way of their battling parents.

"Dad!" Rose and Prim were screaming in horror.

"Oh, crap." Aiden's eyes widened from above, and he began swearing, then took off to retrieve Uncle Bog. He was the only one who would be able to stop this. Aiden flew as fast as his wings could take him, aware that he would be in serious trouble when this was over. Hopefully, he hadn't just accidentally caused anyone to be killed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love these kids. :D Aiden is now special to me. So his little glitter bombs started out as water balloons, one orange and one green. Then they became dust. Then they became glitter. THEN I REALIZED it would not be as serious of a situation unless ONE OF THEM WAS PINK and landed on super paranoid, overprotective Mom Marianne. :D  
> Everyone's just trying to be a good parent. :D  
> *Laugh* I realized after reading through this a few times, that Sunny isn't aware his son DOES know what to do with a girl. :D More so than Cadeyrn. :D


	3. Part III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This will ruin a date....

Bog would have enjoyed the festivities If Marianne had been by his side like she was supposed  to have been. They were the King and Queen. He had dressed up tonight in a regal robe of purple, lined with white rabbit fur.  A purple cape fell between his wings and so much fabric swirled around his legs it was irritating, but he did it because the people preferred it to his more spartan appearance.

Marianne's gown was still hanging in the changing room, layers, and layers of shimmering gold fabric and matching spider silk lace. Bog wanted to see her in it, but she told him it would be a surprise. She would be late, but she would be there.

Now, the dance had been going on for half an hour. Bog kept his eye on a gathering of children, his own, Dawn's, and others whose parents danced nearby. The children were being minded by a small group of nursemaids and kept off the dance floor.  Most of them thought dancing was twirling around in a circle which they did  enthusiastically.

Waiting for her husband, Dawn stood amid a group of older girls, including her own, showing them proper dance moves  .  The older girls mimicked her well, but the younger ones fell all over themselves and laughed at their clumsiness .

Bog was back to minding his son, the youngest child there. He was incapable of letting his tiny little Duncan out of his sight. Leaf shapes scaled over the boy's head, and he would not have hair. His eyes appeared hazel, and he had the exact same ears and features Bog had. Most of them  were muted  , toned down by his mother's blood.  Soft ridges of skin covered the boy's shoulders, and Bog wasn't sure if they would remain that way or grow in the same way his had  .  Griselda wasn't certain either, noting they were smaller and less prominent than Bog's had been at that age .

The happy child's wings held a tiny bit of blue and purple to them like his elder brothers, and Bog assumed his wings would look the same as he grew, but the fact this child looked so much like him had him hovering around with him more than any of the others  .  This one needed his father's protection from the world far more than the others, and  thankfully, none of his older siblings minded..  They understood their father had more than enough love for  all of  them, but their tiniest brother was different.

"Uncle Bog! Uncle bog!" Bog  was snapped  from his thoughts at the sound of Aiden's voice, the child's voice shrill with panic. The boy huffed and flew in a rapid circle around Bog. "Marianne… Marianne…"

"Aiden, land and talk," snapped Bog, gesturing to the floor in front of him.

"They're fighting!" Aiden panted.

"Who and where?" Bog loomed over his tiny nephew.

"Marianne. Roland. Morning Moon." Aiden put his hands on his knees,  barely  able to get the words out. He looked up to see his uncle gone and only the rattling of his wings to  be heard.

-=-=-=-=-

Sunny stood in front of his son and Rose, staring at the disaster that unfolded in front of them.  Marianne was livid, and her sword strikes were so powerful she brought down several arbors trying to get to Roland..  The pair of them were moving around the entire courtyard, knocking over tables and destroying everything. People were screaming and trying to get out.

Roland was clearly only trying to defend himself, his face white in shock and eyes wide.  Marianne wasn't allowing him any way to escape, and he  barely  evaded her blows, each one intended to do more than  just  scare him. In her fury, she was trying to kill him.

"I'm  really  sorry, Aurelius." Sunny apologized to his son, who had his arms around his sobbing date. "I didn't mean for any of this to happen! I don't know what is going on! Where did the glitter come from?!" He patted his hair, and pink glitter flew out of it.

-=-=-=-=-

Bog lifted in the air the moment he heard the name Roland.  He was off when the location  was revealed  , soaring across the dance hall as fast he could, which was faster than most fairies  . Clenching his jaw, he sorted through a myriad of emotions.  He wasn't worried for Marianne, no, his wife as more than capable of handling him, and that was the more significant issue .

He suspected Marianne had done something and ran into Roland, and then they got into a fistfight. That was very much like Marianne, and not at all like Roland. Bog grumbled because whatever happened, he was likely going to have to pull his wife off of Roland.

Over the years, Bog had followed the saying. Keep your friends close. Keep your enemies closer. He had forced Roland to meet with him many times over the years, to make sure he was no threat to his wife or the kingdom. It usually involved plying a nervous Roland with alcohol in an elf tavern so he would relax and talk. The first time Bog did it was before Roland  was allowed  to live inside in a home near their castle.

Roland petitioned both Roland and Marianne to  be allowed  near the safety of the castle for the sake of his twins . They were two years old and had lost their mother in an incident with an owl. Roland begged and pleaded his case, wanting to bring them closer to their mother's family and his own. Bog decided he wanted to see how sincere Roland was and invited him to a tavern.

What followed was something Bog would never want to admit to.  After enough alcohol and a little bit for Bog to relax around someone he did not like, the braggart turned on the charm and was actually very entertaining  .  At some point, when Roland had a few more drinks, the charm fell away and what was left  was a sad pile of self-loathing and concern for his daughters  . They were  truly  the only thing in the world Roland cared about.  They came out of a liaison with a random fairy woman, and he had married her, only because he wanted his daughters, not her  . She was  just  there to care for them, which was a loathsome statement to Bog.

Bog spoke up for him and convinced Marianne he had paid enough for his crimes.  He could  be forgiven  , and that they did owe him at least one nice consideration, because, without Roland's idiotic actions, they would never have met, married, and have their wonderful children.

Over the years, for Bog's entertainment, he would invite Roland to a private party with a few friends, and they would drink into the night,  typically  ending with Bog probing around for any signs of Roland's intentions shifting and changing  . They never did. Roland's daughters were his focus, and he  entirely  gave up on whatever ambitions he had before. He was still an annoying person, but he kept to himself for the sake of his beloved children. Bog could respect that.

The sounds of swords clashing and people screaming urged Bog on faster. This wasn't  just  a fistfight.

-=-=-=-=-

"Get out from under there and face me like a man!" Marianne screamed at Roland, stomping around on the table he was hiding under.  His sword was a good distance away, and he gripped his sword hand  tightly  , attempting to stem the bleeding coming from his hand .

"Marianne! Please stop! I'm begging you! I wasn't trying to hurt them! I would never hurt any of them! I'm not stupid!" Roland's pleading tone was  embarrassingly  frantic.  His green shirt  was ripped  in several places where Marianne had caught him, and he had a slash on his right leg that was deep enough the blood had soaked in down to his ankle . "Marianne! Put down the sword and let me go! I won't bother them again! You'll never see me again! Please, Marianne!"

The begging only made Marianne angrier. She stomped on the table, walking in circles and waiting for him to come out.

"Mom!" Cadeyrn saw an opportunity to talk to her. "You need to stop and let him go! He was  just  following us!"

"He pulled a sword on you, and he was going to dust you with love potion!" Marianne glared at her son, then motioned for him to leave. "You don't need to see this. Take your dates and go."

"If you kill my date's father, you're RUINING my date, Mom! Do you  really  want to do that?" Cadeyrn attempted to distract his mother.

"Please, Queen Marianne, have mercy,  I don't believe  he wanted to hurt them!" Prim came up beside Cadeyrn, looking up at Marianne, her hands clasped in front of her. "He's my father. He's a bit of a jerk, but he's only trying to protect us!"

"I don't want to hurt them!"  Roland retreated, backing toward the side of the table Marianne was no longer watching .

"Love. Potion." Marianne glowered, wiggling her fingers. Pink glitter flew off of them.

"What is going on here?" Bog dropped through the gaping hole in the courtyard and flew up to land near his son.

"Roland was going to use love potion on our son!" Marianne turned, seeing Roland's head poke out from the side of the table. She snarled and turned, jabbing her sword down.

"I was not!" Roland shouted, ducking back under the table.

Bog took a quick look around, setting his staff down hard, his other hand still clutching Duncan, who was now reaching out and calling for his mother. Bog's eyes settled on Marianne, noting the pink dust and glitter falling off her as she moved.

"Marianne, Love." Bog spoke  gently  , coming closer. "It's not love potion. First of all, it's forbidden, and Sugar Plum would NEVER make it again. She promised.  Secondly  , it dissipates after use, and  thirdly , that is glitter and chalk dust."

Marianne turned  slowly  , lifting her arms to look at what  was indeed  , shiny bits of glitter and dust. Her face fell as anger was replaced by  embarrassment. "Oh, no."  Marianne sheathed her sword and stepped off the table, turning to face the man she had fought underneath of it. "Roland. I am so sorry!" She stepped up to offer a hand.

Roland scowled at her. "Are you done trying to kill me?"

"I thought it was love potion." Marianne sighed. "You can understand how that would make me a little angry."

"Little?!" Roland  slowly  crawled out from under the table, huffing and still gripping his hand.

"I uh, will make it up to you?" Marianne winced at what she had done and what she might have done had they continued.

"I better get a crown and an army out of this," grumbled Roland. "You were trying to kill me! I'm one of your subjects! I didn't do anything wrong! Wow, you  really  hate me." He finished  glumly . "I deserve that."

"You did pull a sword on a prince," pointed Rose in annoyance, as she, Aurelius, and Sunny joined the conversation .

"Dear, you're not helping," Roland muttered.

"This is a misunderstanding," stated Bog. "We'll make good for what happened, Roland. Right now, ye need to get someone to stitch ye up. And no, ye do not get a crown or an army."

Aurelius frowned, then looked at his uncle, "Uncle, how did you get here so fast?"

"Aiden came and got me." Bog replied, then it dawned on him. "Aiden."

"Uh, Aiden had pink and green glitter on his hands this morning." Aurelius grimaced. " I think  this  was meant  for us, not you."

"Aidan!"  Marianne screamed, "Wherever you are, I'm going to find you, and when I do, you will be Roland's personal little helper for the next three months!"

"Oh, I like that." Roland nodded with a smile.

"Oh,  I don't think  you will." Marianne smiled back at Roland in a way that made him very uncomfortable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this little short story. I had a good time writing up the interactions and figuring out who everyone is. :D Now I really want to draw Aidan. :D 
> 
> Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

**Author's Note:**

> Children, so many glorious happy kids all over the place, driving their parents crazy, well, not Dawn... I think she lives for it.


End file.
